Inspection Day

"Harry, today are the dormitory inspections, remember?" asked Ron.

"Oh, yeah," Harry replied. "Well, I guess I'd better get those old dirty socks out from under the bed..."

As he bent down and stuck his head under the bed, Hermione walked in.

"Hermione, you're not supposed to be in here!" Ron exclaimed. "What if we were in our underwear or something?"

"Then I would think 'oh, that's wrong', Ron," Hermione said with a smile.

She peered down at Harry. Well, what she could see of Harry.

"Harry, what are you doing?"

"What?" Harry crawled out from under the bed. "Sorry, I was just...er...getting these...old socks."

Harry held up the socks.

"Gross, Harry!" came Ron's voice from his trunk. He was looking for the magical room cleaner Hermione had gave him last year, because he was 'unorganized and positively disgusting', as Hermione had put it. "I think you need this, Harry, not me."

"Harry!" Hermione said loudly. "I'm surprised at you! Stop acting like Ron!"

"Hey!" exclaimed Ron. "I don't have smelly old socks under my bed!"

"No, you have underwear under your bed, Ron," Hermione pointed out.

"I do not!" Ron said hotly.

"Look, Ron."

"No!"

"Really, Ron, look under your bed," Hermione said.

Ron crawled under his bed.

He came up blushing like a sunburned tomato.

"Okay, so I do, but I don't care," Ron said.

"Aha!" Hermione said. "You do!"

"What are you talking about, you didn't know already?" Harry asked.

"Of course not," Hermione said. "I just...guessed."

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed.

"Sorry," Hermione said.

***

At dinner that night, Dumbledore announced the results of the dormitory inspection.

"The dormitories were very well kept, students. Everyone had a few flaws, however. I recall a certain prefect who seemed to have...underwear under his bed," Dumbledore looked right at Ron when he said this. Ron blushed, and there were whispers and giggles throughout the crowd.

"But there was one student who had a wonderfully kept dormitory area," Dumbledore smiled. "It was Hermione Granger."

Hermione blushed and smiled.

"Also," Dumbledore added, "I believe I recall a certain boy's bed having traces of...old socks underneath." He smiled, eyes twinkling, at Harry.

***

Back in the common room after dinner and the inspection announcements, Ron was ranting and raving on and on about Dumbledore's announcement.

"Why did he have to make my inspection so obvious?"

"Ron, you did have...er...drawers under there," Neville pointed out.

"So?"

"Ickle Ronniekins has his little undies under his bed?" Fred and George said. They had overheard their conversation and decided to butt in.

"Shut it, before I tell Mum about how you stuffed a first year into the toilet," Ron said, using Hermione's guessing antic.

"You know about that?" the twins exclaimed.

Ron smirked. "I do now."

The twins whacked Ron on the head with a Potions book and walked away.

"Ouch!" Ron rubbed his head.

"Well, you did kind of deserve it," Hermione pointed out.

"You did the same thing to me!"

Hermione ignored him.

"What about that hint about me socks?" Harry said.

"They were kind of smelly," Hermione replied.

"Kind of?" Ron put in, "They stunk up the whole room!"

"Whatever you say, Underwear Boy," Harry smiled.

"Will everyone stop about the underwear under my bed?" Ron exclaimed.

'Just another Inspection Day,' Hermione thought to herself, smiling. 'Just another Inspection Day.'